A Whole New World
by Willowfan
Summary: Xander didn't wander the country after graduation. He had other plans.
1. Default Chapter

A Whole New World  
By Willowfan  
  
Disclaimers: The characters from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Stargate:SG-1 are not mine. They belong to other people. They are the ones that make money off of them, not me. I just enjoy writing them. I'm not challenging their copyrights in any way, shape or form.  
  
Feedback: Yes please! Send feedback to kindred69153@hotmail.com .  
  
Pairing: W/T, B/R (only for a bit), X/A  
  
Summery: Instead of aimlessly wandering the country in a broken down jalopy at the end of S3, Xander instead joins the US Marine Corps. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Buffy stared open mouthed at the wavy haired young man before her. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had she heard correctly? Was he kidding, this another in his long carrier of practical jokes? She managed to ask him. "Huh?" the blonde slayer stammered.  
  
"I am joining the marines." Xander said again. He knew the news would probably stun all of his friends into a confused and stammering silence, so he was patient.  
  
Willow stared as well, still reeling from the shock. "The United States Marines?" she squeaked.  
  
Xander only smiled. "Well, I'm not going to join the Canadians." He smiled. "I leave for San Diego next week. Everything is ready."  
  
Willow looked around the room. It was her, Buffy, Giles and Joyce. Oz had left for a gig and wouldn't be back until next week. "Xander, are you sure?" she asked, standing and walking over to sit next to her best friend since kindergarten. "I mean, if this is just some macho guy thing..." she trailed off.  
  
Xander offered her his best smile. "I've been thinking a lot about it, actually. They offered to pay for my college when I get out. We both know I'm not so good with the school. And we know my parents wouldn't pay for it. It's a good thing, Willow." He said softly, wrapping an arm around Willow's shoulder.  
  
Buffy smiled. "We'll miss you. How long will you be gone?" she asked.  
  
"Basic is eight weeks. Then it's on to specialist training which can take anywhere from another three to nine weeks. It all depends on what field I choose to go into." He said softly.  
  
Buffy nodded and fell silent.  
  
Xander looked over at the two who had yet to say anything. The two whose opinion mattered more to him than his own parents. "You guys haven't said anything." Xander said softly.  
  
Giles was cleaning his glasses and looked up at the young man. "Ah, well. If you are certain that joining the military is the course you choose for yourself, then I wish you the best of luck." Giles said quietly. He smiled at the young man. "I believe the maturity will look good on you." He said.  
  
Joyce also smiled. "I am very proud of you, Xander." The scoobies surrogate mother said finally, beaming at the young man. "You will make a fine member of our armed forces." She said reaching over to squeeze Xander's hand.  
  
Xander gave his best 'aw shucks' smile and looked down, turning a little bit red. "Thank you Joyce." He said softly. Finally, Buffy stood up. "Well, since you are sure this is what you want, I say we have a going away party. Pizza, chips, sodas...mochas for me and Wills..." she looked over at the redhead who was nodding eagerly at the chocolaty comfort food. "We'll miss you Xander." The blonde said.  
  
Xander stood and embraced Buffy. "I'll be back before I am stationed. And we can write, email, and phone. I'm not getting out of your lives so easily." He said. "Now, I believe pizza was mentioned?" ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Off world activation. Receiving SG-5 GDO signal." The sergeant said.  
  
General Hammond checked the mission logs and frowned. "SG-5 isn't due back for another week. Open the iris." He barked. "Combat teams to the gateroom, prepare for hostile forces."  
  
Several soldiers poured into the gateroom and took up positions along the ramp and in machine gun nests in front of the Stargate. The iris on the gate spiraled open and everyone waited.  
  
Three forms came through the gate. Two were badly wounded; the third was carrying one of them. "Close the iris! Now!" he barked.  
  
General Hammond nodded and the iris closed immediately. "Dr. Fraiser to the gateroom." General Hammond said quickly and he hurried down to the floor himself. "Colonel, what happened? Where is the rest of your team?" he asked. Seven members of SG-5 were gone. "Was it the Goa'uld?"  
  
Colonel Mark Davies shook his head. "No sir, I don't know what it was. We were setting up base camp when I noticed that Feretti and Jones hadn't returned from perimeter check." He said, looking at his remaining team. "It was a slaughter sir. Nothing worked. P90's, zats, nothing killed them. They flinched them off like they were spitballs." He said, shaking his head. "I recommend we lock P74-887 out of the dialing computer sir." He said.  
  
General Hammond looked at the colonial. "Agreed for now. Get to the infirmary, son. We'll see about rebuilding SG-5. I want a full report as soon as you are able." He said.  
  
Colonel Davies nodded and began walking out of the gateroom. 


	2. Graduation and Shipping Out

Xander stood at attention as he waited along with the other members of his class. It had been a grueling eight weeks, that was for sure, but it was a piece of cake compared to high school. His instructors all gave him exceptionally high marks in hand-to-hand combat skills, physical strength as well as mental, and they had all recommended him for special ops training. He accepted when he saw it would give him more money for school.  
  
He followed his class as the commencement drills came to a close and they marched out. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of red. He chanced a look to see Willow, Buffy, Giles, Joyce and two people he hadn't met, but from Buffy and Willows letters had to be Tara and Riley. They were all cheering as he walked. Xander stood a little straighter as he marched. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Xander scooped the blonde up and laughed, twirling her in the air as she squealed.  
  
"Xander Harris, put me down!" she screamed.  
  
Xander laughed and let her go. "Sorry Buffster, I just missed you, that's all." He beamed and looked at the group assembled to meet him.  
  
Willow hurried up to the young man in front of her and wrapped him in a hug that almost cut off his air supply. She bounced happily and Xander hugged her back, just glad to see everyone was alright.  
  
"Oh. Xander. I have to introduce you." The redhead stepped away from her best friend and reached her hand back. The blonde behind her took Willows hand and shuffled forward. "Xander, this is Tara." she said softly.  
  
Xander extended his hand and smiled broadly. "Hi Tara. I'm the one they've been telling you lies about." He said, nodding his head.  
  
Tara immediately looked up. "N-no. They haven't s-said anything b-bad about you." She stammered, her face a mask of concern.  
  
Xander saw he had erred and began trying to calm Tara down. "Sorry, Tara. I was kidding. Buffy, Willow and I go way back. I know they're my friends."  
  
Tara nodded and stepped back, letting her hair fall over her face. Xander felt a pang of guilt for causing such a reaction in the obviously shy girl.  
  
"Xander, Tara's my girlfriend." Willow said softly.  
  
Xander just stared at the blonde, his mouth agape. Fortunately for him, his silence was only a few seconds long. "Nice choice Will. She's a beautiful young woman." He said sincerely, wrapping an arm around his oldest friends shoulder.  
  
Willow positively beamed now. "You're not freaked?" she asked.  
  
Xander shook his head. "Nah. I don't care who you love, as long as you're happy." He said, looking over Willow once. "And it looks like you are very happy."  
  
Willow nodded. "I am. I am Happy McHappy, the happiest little elf." She said, intertwining her fingers in Tara's.  
  
Buffy rushed foreword, dragging Riley. "My turn, my turn." She bounced. "Xander Harris, meet Riley Finn. He's in the Marines too." She said.  
  
Xander shook the young mans hand. "Really?"  
  
Riley nodded. "Yeah. Captain."  
  
Xander's face fell immediately and he snapped to attention.  
  
Riley grinned. "At ease private." He said softly, looking around. "It's kind of a hush-hush op. So don't draw attention to it." He smiled.  
  
Xander nodded nervously. "Yes sir."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Relax Xander." She sighed. "So, what are you doing now? I mean...where, are you shipping off?"  
  
Xander smiled. "The Navy ships off, Buff." He paused for a second. "And I guess since the Navy and Marines kind of travel in the same circles, I guess I could ship out to." He shrugged. "But I haven't been assigned yet. That's later."  
  
Buffy nodded and looked to Riley.  
  
Riley just smiled. "He'll probably go to weapons training, depending on what he's interested in. Maybe MP. If so he's headed to Fort McClellan, Alabama." He smiled.  
  
Xander nodded. "Ok. Sure."  
  
Willow shook her head. "No. Done with training. Coming home now." She pouted.  
  
Xander smiled. "Sorry Wills. I have about, four years to go." He grinned. "I may even be assigned in Alaska."  
  
Willow paled visibly.  
  
Tara took the redheads hand and grinned. "I-I think he's joking sweetie." She whispered.  
  
"Come on. I have two weeks and I want to spend it with my best friends." Xander said, wrapping his arms around Buffy and Willow's shoulders. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
The vampire ducked as Xander swung again. But this time, it was a feint. Xander spun and dropped the vamp, and plunged his stake into the vampires' chest. It turned to dust instantly.  
  
Buffy ran up and grinned apologetically. "Sorry Xander. I let him slip by."  
  
Xander shook his head. "Yeah. I missed this." He mumbled, grinning. "No big Buff. I got him."  
  
Buffy nodded. "I saw that. Go kung-fu Xander." She grinned. "Learn all that in the marines?"  
  
Xander nodded. "Yep. I picked up on the hand-to-hand stuff really quick, thanks to the scooby training I received before signing up."  
  
Buffy grinned. "I am so gonna get compensated for that, right?" she teased.  
  
Xander smiled. "I saved your life our sophomore year...how about we call it even?" he asked.  
  
Buffy shook her head. "I have saved your life lots since then. I mean, geez." She flipped her hair in an exaggerated air. "What's a girl gotta do to make a living around here?" she laughed.  
  
As the two friends walked through the cemetery, they saw a bright flash of light come from behind one of the mausoleums, followed by a vampire flying several feet through the air and landing with a wet thud over a headstone next to them. Buffy quickly punched a stake through the vamps heart.  
  
Xander watched as an infuriated Willow stormed from behind the crypt and stalked over to the headstone. "Where did he go? Which way?" the redhead demanded.  
  
Buffy grinned sheepishly. "I sort of staked him."  
  
Willow deflated instantly. "That was my job. He saw my Tara and I wanted to make him suffer." She growled, folding her arms and pouting.  
  
Xander tried to calm the redhead. "Come on Wills. You know how Buffy gets if she doesn't get her way slaying. All pouty and quiet, and then poof. Instant explosion Buffy." He winked at the slayer to let her know he was joking.  
  
Willow did brighten a little. "Well still. It was my girlfriend that mister creeping-around-and-peeking-at-people saw." She pressed, just as Tara came around the crypt.  
  
"W-willow...sweetie?" she said, rushing up to the hackers' side. "Are you ok?" the blonde witch checked Willow for any marks or worse.  
  
Willow only smiled under the menstruations of her girlfriend. "I'm fine. Buffy was there to save me." She said dreamily, staring at Tara.  
  
Buffy actually blushed. "I didn't do much. Just a quick stake and a small poof." She shrugged. "So. Pizza, movies and an all night attempt in futility?" she said to the gathered group.  
  
Willow's smile actually faded and she looked at Xander. "You shouldn't leave." She said softly. "You just got back."  
  
Xander nodded. "I'm sorry Willow. I have to go where they send me, when they send me. I don't have a lot of choice."  
  
Xander thought back to the large envelope that was hand delivered to him by four MP's and sighed. Inside was a letter from his drill instructor, saying he had been very impressed with Xanders performance in basic, and he had made a few calls to old friends on his behalf. One of the calls panned out and they wanted an interview with him. But first, Xander had to sign a Top Secret non-discloser statement and agree to travel to Colorado within three days. This was two days ago. Xander sighed. He would be leaving tomorrow morning at seven a.m. and he would be gone for...who knows how long. He sighed.  
  
"Will we get to watch Apocalypse Now?" Xander asked.  
  
Willow smiled. "I'll miss you Xander, but not that much." She grinned.  
  
Xander wrapped an arm around Buffy and Willow's shoulders, walking between the two of them. "I promise I will write." He said. "I mean, how long can I stay away from my best buds without going nuts?" he asked. Willow and Buffy both smiled as they walked towards Buffy's house to enjoy their last night together before Xander shipped out of their lives. 


	3. Stargatecool

Colonel Jack O'Neill knocked on General Hammond's door before entering. "You wanted to see me sir?" he asked, slipping his hands into his pockets and rocking on his feet.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill, I have a very important assignment for you." General Hammond said, handing O'Neill a dossier and smiling.  
  
Jack took the folder and groaned. On the tab, he read 'Candidates'. "Oh brother." He mumbled.  
  
Hammond sighed, sitting down. "As second in command of the SGC and team leader of SG-1, it's your duty to look over new candidates. There is a lot of potential in there, and I want your input. As of now, SG-1 is ordered to stand down while you evaluate the recruits. There will be a bus arriving at 09:30 hours tomorrow. They know they are seeing a top secret Deep Space Telemetry project. There are twenty candidates." Hammond steeped his fingers. "We will be keeping four of them."  
  
Jack quickly glanced at the sheets in the folder. "All of them are marines." He said softly. "Shouldn't Colonel Makepeace be looking these over?" he asked.  
  
Hammond smiled. "Makepeace is offworld. Besides, it's not for his team."  
  
Jack nodded. "SG-5?"  
  
Hammond nodded his head. "Only three survivors. It was touch and go with Simmons, but Dr. Fraiser assures me that he will be fit for duty."  
  
Jack sighed. "So it looks like I am baby sitting for the next few days." He sighed and saluted, rather sarcastically. "Thank you General Hammond, sir." He toned.  
  
Hammond only smiled. "Anytime Colonel. Anytime. Dismissed." He said, getting back to some paperwork. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Xander stared in awe as the bus rumbled into the giant cave-like entrance. He wondered, only briefly, why a deep space tele...telem...tele –something, would be underground. All he knew was he was on some sort of fast track. He and nineteen other recruits all rode the bus and watched their surroundings pass by. He would get a pay raise, most likely a promotion, and he would also be in something that wasn't combat oriented. Willow would love it.  
  
The bus stopped and everyone filed off. The driver had them all fall in and other personnel, from the base, apparently, took their bags with them. Xander resisted the urge to look around. Almost three minutes passed when two officers came into view. One was an Air Force Colonel, the other wore Marine Corps fatigues. There was no rank insignia.  
  
"My name is Colonel Jack O'Neill. I am second in command of the base here at Cheyenne Mountain. This is my second in command. T'ealc." He said and paused, looking at the large man beside him. "Jones. T'ealc Jones. Just call him T'ealc...or sir." The Colonel sputtered.  
  
Xander smiled very softly. The Colonel sounded like him sometimes.  
  
"Before we go any further, are there any questions about what you are here to see?" the Colonel asked.  
  
Xander hesitated.  
  
"Any at all?" O'Neill asked again.  
  
Xander had one, but he wasn't sure if this was a test. Willow always said there were no such things as stupid questions, but Willow had never been in the military. His instinct took over and the lifelong lessons from his best friend came into play. Xander raised his hand.  
  
Jack nodded in his direction. "Yes private?"  
  
Xander stepped forward to speak. "Private Harris, Sunnydale California sir." He barked out. "I was just wondering, sir...Why is a Deep Space Telemetry project underground?" he asked.  
  
Jack narrowed his gaze and held out his hand to T'ealc.  
  
T'ealc just looked at O'Neill's hand, expressionless.  
  
Jack sighed. "Harris, the dossier on Private Harris." He said.  
  
T'ealc bowed his head slightly and handed over the dossier.  
  
Colonel O'Neill walked over to Xander , reading the file.  
  
Xander winced inside. He knew he should have stayed quiet. At the core of his being, he had figured out a long time ago that shutting up and not questioning things made life so much simpler. Then Buffy came into their lives and now he questioned everything, much to Willow's enjoyment.  
  
O'Neill made a few notes in the file and closed the folder. "Because it's a Top Secret Deep Space Telemetry project, Harris." He said simply.  
  
Xander opened his mouth again, much to his chagrin. Damn it. "But, wouldn't we actually need to be looking into Deep Space to see if the research worked, sir?" he pressed.  
  
O'Neill opened Xanders file and made a few more notes. "Not until the thing is built, private." He said. "Anything else we can help you understand?" he asked. "Why do we wear green in the desert, perhaps? Why the joint military control? Why you were picked?" he asked.  
  
Xander only shook his head. "No sir." He said, effectively cutting off his thought process.  
  
O'Neill looked at the other recruits. "Anyone else?"  
  
No one stepped forward. O'Neill frowned. "Let's move inside, then."  
  
Xander turned in perfect military precision and marched inside with the others, not noticing T'ealc watching him, one eyebrow raised in admiration. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Do you think he's ok?" Willow asked Buffy again for the third time.  
  
Buffy blocked the vampires punch and spun, kicking him in the chest, sending him sprawling across the ground. "Who?" she asked, before pulling her stake.  
  
"Xander." Willow said, sipping her diet coke. "I mean. He could be dead, and we wouldn't know. Do you know how many people have died in wars and they don't know them? They have monuments in Washington D.C. dedicated to soldiers that no one knows!" panic crept into Willows voice.  
  
Buffy shook her head and blocked two more punches with the vampire before slamming the stake into its heart, dusting it instantly. "Have you been watching the History Channel again?" she asked, turning to Willow.  
  
Willow looked down. "They might have had a show about the monument while I just happened to pause on the channel, yes." She said.  
  
Buffy grinned. "At least you aren't watching the Discovery Channel again and convinced we are all dying from the plague." She laughed.  
  
Willow smiled now. "You think I am exaggerating?"  
  
Buffy smiled. "You're worried about your best friend. Exaggeration is allowed. I am sure he is doing fine and having a wonderful time. Want to get mocha to chase away all the bad stuff in your busy Willow-brain?"  
  
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure he's having a lot of fun." She affirmed before walking with Buffy. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Xander rubbed his head and sighed. He was miserable. Looking at the paper again, she tried to make some sense out of what it said. The calculations he had on paper couldn't be right, but with the formulas they had given him, he was sure that they were. Looking up, he saw the other eleven recruits struggling the same way. Seven people hadn't made it past the first two days. Finally, he stood up, signaling he was finished.  
  
The blonde woman who administered the test came up to him, looking at the paper. "All finished, private?" she asked.  
  
Xander knew that Major Carter was an officer in the Air Force, which meant she could be just as tough and rugged as the others, but he felt more at ease working under her supervision than he did any of the others. She had an air around her that exuded confidence and that comforted him. It was a little like working with Buffy again. "Yes ma'am. But..." he paused, snapping his mouth shut. He was about to question things again.  
  
"But what, private?" she pressed. Xander was the first to complete the complex formulas and she wanted to know his thoughts.  
  
"Well..." he said, pointing to several things on the paper. Silently, he thanked Willow for he tutoring in the advanced math classes she insisted he take with her. She had wanted to take the classes, but not alone. She begged Xander to go with her and she promised she would help him. He passed, with a fair grasp of the procedures, but still the formulas made no sense to him.  
  
"Yes?" Major Carter pressed, almost eagerly.  
  
"Well...it doesn't make any sense." He blurted out.  
  
"Thank you!" one of the other recruits blurted out. "I can't even begin to put this stuff together; none of it makes any sense. And besides, I am a marine, not a scientist." He said.  
  
Carter looked at the marine and smiled slightly. "The thoriums in front of you are the basic tests that a position on this base calls for. How far did you get?" she asked him.  
  
The soldiers face fell and he looked at his paper. "I filled out my name and started the first problem...I got stuck." He said.  
  
Major Carter looked around the room. "How many of you made it past the first problems?" she asked.  
  
Three other recruits raised their hands.  
  
Major Carter smiled. "How convenient." She said softly. "Thank you all. The test is over." She looked at Xander. "Can you see me after everyone is dismissed?" she said.  
  
Xander nodded.  
  
"Dismissed." Carter said to the group. "Drop your tests off on the table by the door and return to your barracks." She said. "Come with me, Harris." She commanded.  
  
Xander smiled. Yep. It was just like working with Buffy again. At least THAT he knew how to do. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Willow frowned and typed several more lines. The message was always the same; A bright yellow square in the middle of her screen that flashed 'Access Denied'. She had just used every trick in her considerable arsenal and she had nothing. Cracking top secret government computers was really starting to frustrate her.  
  
Tara walked up behind the hacker and leaned down, resting her chin on the redheads shoulder. She kissed Willow softly on the cheek and lovingly wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Still nothing?" she asked.  
  
Willow leaned back into her girlfriends embrace. "Nothing. It's like he just disappeared." She sighed. "It's all very frustrating." She grumbled. Shutting the laptop down, after making sure to pull out of the intricate network she had created to ensure that Uncle Sam was unable to trace her, she stood and shuffled over to the bed with Tara.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, sweetie." The blonde said softly, crawling in beside Willow.  
  
Willow only nodded and turned off the light as Tara snuggled up beside her. "You think I'm weird?" she asked softly.  
  
Tara frowned. "Why would I think that?" she asked.  
  
"Because of my little obsession with finding Xander." Willow said, flopping down on the bed next to Tara.  
  
Tara smiled softly. "It's not weird to worry about your best friend since...well, the sandbox."  
  
Willow rolled onto her side and looked into Tara's eyes. "You don't feel threatened or worried about it, then?"  
  
Tara only shook her head. "I know you love me, but I also know you love Xander. Just like you love Buffy, and Mr. Giles, and Riley. You love me a little different..."  
  
"I love you a lot different." Willow interrupted her voice firm.  
  
"But I am not jealous that you are concerned." Tara continued, smiling.  
  
Willow smiled. "I am so lucky to have such an understanding girlfriend."  
  
"Understanding; yes. Happy to go to sleep with no snuggles; no. Come to bed sweetie." Tara said, smiling and trying to look innocent. To anyone else besides Willow, it worked. But the hacker knew the look in Tara's eyes and quickly forgot about Xander. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Xander stood at attention along with the other recruits. He wasn't sure why they were asked to stay outside of the doors and he wasn't sure what the klaxons and machinery grinding behind the doors was, but he knew how to follow orders. So he stood, waiting for someone to come along and tell him where to go and what to do. Personally, he missed Buffy.  
  
Samantha Carter smiled as she heard the fourth chevron engage. She nodded down to Colonel O'Neill in the Gate room and the Colonial smiled devilishly. "They can come in now, sir." She said, knowing full well why Colonel O'Neill did this part personally.  
  
"I love this part." He said, sliding his ID card through the reader. The doors slid open and he looked at the four new recruits. "Come on in folks. The show is about to start." He said, gesturing for them to file into the room past him.  
  
Xander stared open mouthed at the large, spinning circle at one end of the gate room. "That's a deep space telemetry project?" he asked mainly to himself, but his voice carried over the noise of the Stargate.  
  
"No. That's a Stargate." Colonial O'Neill said.  
  
"A what, sir?" Xander asked.  
  
"A Stargate." The voice came from behind Xander and he almost jumped. "It's a device found on the Giza Plateau in the early 1920's." Major Carter said, pulling on her gloves. "It creates a stable wormhole within the confines of the gate that allows near instantaneous travel through hundreds of light years of space to another planet equipped with a similar gate." She said.  
  
Xander smiled. "Cool."  
  
Major Carter sighed, rolling her eyes. She slipped her hand into her pocket and handed Colonel O'Neill a crisp, twenty dollar bill.  
  
"Thank you Major." O'Neill said.  
  
Chevron seven encoded. the voice over the intercom spoke. Chevron seven locked. As soon as the voice sounded, the gate burst forth with a horizontal splash of something resembling water. The 'splash' shot out several feet before falling back and settling into the shimmering surface.  
  
"Let's take a walk, kids." O'Neill said, slipping his sunglasses on.  
  
Xander, Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and the rest of the recruits walked up the ramp and into the gate. In an instant, they were gone. 


	4. PX171132

The night was cool, crisp and alive. While most things went to sleep at night, Jacob was waking up. He opened his door and smelled the crisp, night air. "Lana. I am going to the north fields. There is something making the G'Vrna anxious." He said.

Lana smiled, popping her head from the kitchen. "Very well Jacob. Be safe." She called.

Jacob turned and headed out the door when he suddenly stopped. A figure was slumped against the porch, breathing heavily. "Are you well, friend? Is there something wrong?"

The figure nodded. "Please. I need help."

Jacob opened his door. "Please. Come in. Sit by the fire. "

The figure looked up and smiled. "Thanks. Don't mind if I do." He said as his face morphed into a visage unlike any Jacob had ever seen. The man snarled and leapt at Jacob, sinking his teeth into Jacobs neck, drinking deeply as he pushed into the home.

As Jacob died, the last image he saw was a man in a green suit smiling down at him.

The screams of Lana and her four children echoed into the night and on through the morning.

Xander stared in complete awe at the sight before him. He stared at the lush forest around them, the strange birds flitting overhead and the bizarre sight of three suns overhead. He had seen and experienced many strange things in his time living on a Hellmouth, but nothing he had ever witnessed had compared him for what he just experienced.

"Are you alright Private?" Colonel O'Neill asked Xander.

Xander only nodded, then remembered that the view wasn't the only reason he wasn't moving.

"He's gonna pop." O'Neill said quickly. The three recruits beside Xander stepped back immediately.

T'ealc raised an eyebrow. "I do not believe he will." He said, having already taken Xander's measure.

O'Neill sighed. "Wanna bet?"

T'ealc only nodded.

A few seconds later, Xander was darting for the bushes.

Colonel O'Neill simply held out his hand. "When will you guys stop betting against me?" he said, folding the money and slipping it into his pocket. "You ok Private?" he called out to the bushes.

"Be out in a minute sir...just looking for my dignity." Xander called back.

Major Carter smiled. "Don't worry Private. We all went through it."

O'Neill looked hurt. "I didn't."

Major Carter sighed and looked at their surroundings. She smiled when she saw that the other two recruits, Private Amanda Paris and Private Donald Farther, as she recalled, were both holding their stomachs and trying not to imitate Harris, who was coming from the trees. "Are you alright Private?" she asked.

Xander nodded. "Yeah. Just remind me never to eat a big breakfast before we do that again, will ya?" he asked, smiling.

Carter grinned. "You will get used to it."

O'Neill was looking around, his sunglasses reflecting the terrain of the planet as he turned his head. "Now that that's out of the way, what do you say to an introduction, Major?" he said.

Carter cleared her throat, getting the attention of the recruits. "Welcome to PX-171132, a small planet on the other side of our own galaxy. We are on the opposite arm of our own Milky Way." She said, smiling.

The recruits were all stunned, their mouths hanging open, all except for Xander, who had a big grin on his face.

"Something amusing Private?" Carter asked.

"Just thinking how much a friend of mine back home would love this." He smiled, thinking of Willow. "She would spend hours and hours learning everything about this place, studying everything from the technology the gate used to the dirt we brought back on our shoes." He grinned.

O'Neill smiled. "Maybe you could get her to apply for the Air Force." He grinned.

Xander shook his head. "Nah. She wouldn't enjoy that particular ride." He said, chucking his thumb back over his shoulder at the Stargate. A Stargate that was dialing an incoming wormhole.

"Let's move double time, folks." O'Neill said, slipping his P-90 off of his shoulder and leveling it at the Stargate as the last chevron encoded.

The gate opened up as O'Neill and the rest of the recruits, as well as SG-1, made the tree line and hid out of site. Six Jaffa warriors, each with a glyph tattooed on his forehead, stepped through the gate. Turning to T'ealc, O'Neill raised his eyebrows in silent question.

T'ealc simply shook his head once and stared at the soldiers as they fanned out.

O'Neill grumbled. This planet was supposed to be a safe place to take new recruits in order for them to get used to wormhole travel and it also served as a small outpost for the science geeks who were into all of the stellar...stuff. It was NOT supposed to have Jaffa warriors stepping through the gate as soon as they arrived. He would have to get General Hammond to put a damn iris on this end. That would mean someone manning a radio position to receive a GDO signal around the clock. That would mean building the base closer to the wormhole. That would mean more money and THAT would mean more paperwork. O'Neill chambered a round angrily and gave the signal to SG-1 to prepare to attack. He hated paperwork.

T'ealc prepared his Zat and nodded his readiness, as did the rest of SG-1.

Giving a silent countdown from three, SG-1 attacked, taking out four of the Jaffa immediately and the other two before a single staff weapon discharged.

O'Neill walked from the trees and turned to face the team, who was slowly emerging. "What the hell are Jaffa doing coming to PX-171132, Carter?" he asked. "I thought PX-171132 was safe. You said PX-171132 was safe, the Jaffa resistance said PX-171132 was safe. Even the freakin Tokra said PX-171132 was safe!" he yelled, kicking up a cloud of dust. "And yet..." he closed his eyes, trying to calm down. "I have a Jaffa scouting party coming through the Gate on PX-171132." He said.

Major Carter, who had been securing the Jaffa along with T'ealc looked up at O'Neill. "Sorry sir. It was very secure up until now." She said.

Xander and the rest of the recruits continued to scan the perimeter as SG-1 dialed Earth and sent radio message to Hammond. "Man...I just wanted to see the world." Private Farther said.

Xander smiled. "One world...two worlds...I get the feeling that we are gonna see all sorts of new things." He said, grinning from ear to ear.

Xander sat on the small, fallen log the three recruits had pulled to the fireside and stared at the fire. They had moved almost a mile from the Stargate in case any Jaffa decided to make another entrance. Xander sat quietly, staring into the flames. Private Paris sat next to him doing the same. He looked over and saw a scared expression on her face. It wasn't one born from the Jaffa scouting party; it wasn't even really one of fear. It was more like all of this was really starting to sink in. They had traveled literally hundreds of light years from home in a few steps. They were on an alien world, or more accurately an alien moon, and they had just killed several hostile aliens.

Xander found this a lot easier to believe since he had been raised on a Hellmouth and been fighting demons and vampires since high school. Amanda, however, grew up in Sacramento. She went to a normal high school, then to a normal college. She was a little smarter than the average person, a lot smarter than Xander, but that was about as weird as she got. Amanda had joined the Air Force because she wanted a career in astrophysics and the Air Force would pay for a lot of her school as well as start her on the path to that very goal. The brochure never said anything about aliens or wormholes.

"Hey. You ok?" Xander asked softly, smiling gently and turning on the old Harris charm.

Amanda looked up at Xander and tried to smile. "Just a little wierded out by all of this I guess. I mean, I always believed there were other life forms. It's a little arrogant to believe that we are alone; the universe is just to massive for that. Statistically speaking the chances are overwhelmingly against it." She said. "But..." she shook her head and tried to form her next few words.

"But, they should look like E.T. and be friendly, just as happy to see us as we are to see them?" Xander supplied.

Amanda smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "A little foolish, huh?" she said softly.

Xander shook his head. "Not really. We all have a pre set notion of the way things should be. A picture in our heads of what is real, what it does and why it does it. It's what we all like to call normal. Anything falling outside of that is abnormal and a cause for fear, anger or some other fight or flight notion." He said. "And we live, every day, in that world we have created. Constantly shocked and surprised when things don't go the way they're supposed to." He grinned. "It doesn't mean for one second we have to like it. We just have to survive in it."

Amanda stared at Xander for a moment before a large grin split her face. "That's the biggest load of double talking, psychological muck I have ever heard." She said. "But I feel better knowing that I'm not freaking out about nothing."

Xander returned her smile. "I was the class clown in high school. Willow was the smart one."

"Harris!" Colonel O'Neill barked, making Xander jump. "You have the watch. Wake Farther in three hours and he'll wake Paris. You notice any more Jaffa you wake everyone up immediately if not sooner. Understood?"

Xander nodded. "Yes sir." He said. Looking over at Amanda, he grinned. "Relax and try to get some rest." He said. Amanda nodded and lay down beside the fire, slowly drifting off to sleep.


	5. Just Like Home

**A Whole New World**  
By Willowfan

**Disclaimers: **The characters from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Stargate:SG-1 are not mine. They belong to other people. They are the ones that make money off of them, not me. I just enjoy writing them. I'm not challenging their copyrights in any way, shape or form.

**Feedback:** Yes please! Send feedback to .

**Pairing:** W/T, B/R (only for a bit), X/A

**Summery:** Instead of aimlessly wandering the country in a broken down jalopy at the end of S3, Xander instead joins the US Marine Corps.

**A/N:** Long time since I updated. I am trying to work on my fics, but I think I bit off too much with...four going now? Anywho...small update...hope you like it...

The night was calm, and a little cooler than Xander was used to. He checked his watch again and sighed. It was exactly five minutes later than the last time he checked, which meant that he had 55 minutes left until he needed to wake up Farther.

Peering out into the night, he kept his eyes roving. He knew from many patrols that if he focused on one spot for to long his eyes would start seeing things. Suddenly, Xander picked up a small sound, very faint and quite far from their position, almost like machinery. He couldn't quite place it but the harder he concentrated the more he heard it. Suddenly, it was quiet again and Xander chuckled to himself; now he was hearing things. He was about to turn and begin his walk around the camp when he caught movement in his peripheral vision. Snapping his P-90 up, he focused on the spot, but there was nothing there.

He stayed there for a few seconds and slowly lowered his weapon, peering around the darkness. This was a bad situation, and his instincts, from living and fighting on a Hellmouth, told him something bad was happening. He moved into the camp and, without taking his eyes from the darkness, knelt by Colonel O'Neill and woke him. "Colonel. I think we have company." He said when O'Neill opened his eyes and frowned at him.

"What kind of trouble, Private?" O'Neill asked, standing and picking up his weapon.

"I thought I heard machinery in the distance, and I think I caught movement in the woods." Xander reported.

"You think?" the Colonel asked, staring into the dark. "What did this machinery sound like?"

"I'm not sure sir. Like grating metal. I don't know of anything in nature that makes that sound, so I decided to play it safe." Xander shrugged.

O'Neill nodded, picking up a pair of night vision goggles. "Good idea." He said, slipping the goggles on and scanning the tree line. "Looks like your instincts were right. We have some visitors." He said. "Carter. T'ealc. Jackson." O'Neill said over his shoulder. "We have some visitors." He repeated.

Xander jumped as T'ealc suddenly materialized beside him, in full gear and holding a large staff. "Great googly-mooglies." He snapped.

"My apologies Xander Harris." T'ealc said, scanning the tree line.

"Harris. Wake the others. They aren't Jaffa, but they aren't our people either." Colonel O'Neill said.

Xander nodded and hurried over to where the recruits lay asleep. He soon returned, flanked by the others. "What are we going to do now sir?" he asked.

"Now we wait. It's going to be light soon, and they're not moving, so we wait." O'Neill said.

"I don't like being this exposed, sir." Major Carter said. "If they have weapons they'll cut us down without much of a problem."

"I concur with Major Carter." T'ealc said. "We should fortify our position."

O'Neill sighed. "With what? Do you happen to have any sandbags, maybe a wall?" he snapped. "Besides. I don't see any weapons. They're just sort of…standing there."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dawn broke and Xander blinked rapidly, realizing he had fallen asleep while sitting on the small rock he was on. He jumped up, spinning and looking for any sign of trouble.

"Easy there, Harris." O'Neill said quietly.

"Sorry sir. I must have dozed off." Xander said, trying to appear calm while his heart hammered in his chest.

"It's alright. You were the only one who didn't get any sleep." O'Neill said.

"Any sign of the…uh…visitors?" Xander asked, unsure of how to classify the movement he saw. They hadn't attacked, so he didn't want to say hostiles, but he didn't know if they were friendly either.

"Not a peep. The sun will be up soon and we will be able to see them more clearly." O'Neill said, looking through the binoculars. O'Neill frowned as he looked through the binoculars. "Huh." He said.

Xander looked up and then out towards the treeline. "Sir?" he asked.

"They're gone." O'Neill said, handing the binoculars to Xander. "Just inside the line, along that copse." He said.

Xander looked and sighed. "Guess they didn't want to play." He said. He couldn't help feeling, however, that something was very wrong.

"Pack it up people. We're heading to the research facility." O'Neill barked.

The six other people moved with precision, the members of SG-1, however, moved with a practiced ease from years of experience while the three recruits still moved with an unsure gait as they checked off everything in their head step by step.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

O'Neill held his hand up and they group stopped and took up positions along the path, scanning the area for trouble. "Something's wrong." He muttered.

Xander could feel it too. "There's no sound." He said softly.

T'ealc raised an eyebrow. "You are correct, Xander Harris." He said. "There is no wildlife in the background. A sign of an ambush." He said, his respect for Xander raising a notch.

O'Neill nodded. "There's that, and the research facilities door is off of the hinges and there are bodies scattered around." He pointed out towards the complex as they crested the rise in the small trail they were following.

Teal'c and Carter immediately brought their weapons to bear, watching their flank for an ambush with practiced eyes.

"Sir, maybe we should take them home and come back with SG-3." Carter said softly.

Jack looked at his 2IC and shook his head. "They gotta learn sometime." He said.

Carter nodded once. "Yes sir."

Xander, meanwhile, was looking down at one of the corpses that was laying broken in the clearing. More accurately, he was looking at the gashes in the corpses neck and the distinct lack of blood. "Dammit." He muttered. "You can take the boy from the Hellmouth and ship him light years away to another freakin planet, but you can't get the Hellmouth away from the boy." Shouldering his weapon, Xander knelt and looked closer at the wound. 'Yep.' He thought to himself. 'Defiantly bites, add a lack of blood and what do you get?' Xander shook his head. "Space vampires." He muttered softly. "Sometimes, I hate my life."


End file.
